The present invention relates generally to decoys for waterfowl, and in particular to stackable waterfowl decoys.
Decoys are commonly used by hunters to lure game within shooting distance. In order to attract waterfowl, hunters place decoys in feeding and resting areas of migrating waterfowl. The decoys entice waterfowl flying overhead to land in close proximity. When the waterfowl attempts to land near the decoys, the waiting hunter will be in a better position to kill the animal.
To be effective, the decoys must realistically simulate waterfowl. Although two-dimensional decoys have cost-effective advantages from a manufacturing and packaging standpoint, three-dimensional decoys tend to be more effective as appearing more life-like. Adding a motion capability to the decoy also increases effectiveness. A decoy is capable of moving by being anchored in an elevated position such that wind causes the decoy to move.
Numerous decoys must be deployed to effectively attract certain species of waterfowl. In some cases, depending upon the species of waterfowl, 500 to 1000 decoys must be deployed. Although hunters prefer to deploy three-dimensional decoys due to increased effectiveness, the transport and storage of numerous three-dimensional decoys is difficult.
In order to reduce the problems associated with the transport and storage of three-dimensional decoys, stackable decoys have been devised. Stackable decoys substantially reduce the amount of space required to store a plurality of decoys. Examples of stackable decoys can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,240 to Hillesland and U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,630 to Boler.
Hillesland describes a stackable decoy that can be converted from a flat sheet to a three-dimensional decoy. To form the three-dimensional decoy, the flat sheet is folded so that integral tabs are connected to inter-fitting slits. The decoy is deployed by anchoring the decoy into the ground. After deployment, the decoys must be disassembled to a flat, planar state and stacked. Hillesland suffers the deficiency of requiring the hunter to disassemble the decoys for stacking. In other words, the decoys cannot be stacked in the three-dimensional state. Moreover, the hunter is required to separately store the anchors.
Boler also describes a stackable decoy that can be assembled in a 3-dimensional state. Although Boler improves upon Hillesland by allowing the decoys to be stacked while assembled, Boler also suffers the deficiency of requiring the anchors to be separately stored. The design in Boler does not allow the decoys to be stacked while the anchor is attached to the decoy.
Therefore, there is a need for a waterfowl decoy that appears realistic while being easily transported and stored, without requiring individual components of the decoy to be stored separately.
According to its major aspects and briefly stated, the present invention is a waterfowl decoy that can assembled from a flat, planar sheet to a 3-dimensional decoy that is capable of stacking while assembled. The decoy basically comprises a sheet and an anchor. The sheet has an outer periphery shaped to resemble a waterfowl when sheet is assembled in a 3-dimensional state. The sheet is substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal axis, except for a bifurcated head. The head has a pair of segments that are specifically designed to be asymmetrical, for a more realistic appearance. The sheet also has a pair of shoulder segments that are aligned by flexing sheet along the longitudinal axis.
The shoulders segments are secured together using an anchor. The bottom end of anchor is received through shoulder segments and a hole in the body of sheet, such that sheet is capable of rotating about anchor in the wind. The bottom end of anchor is preferably tapered so that it can be placed into the ground. Depending upon the position of anchor, sheet can be configured to either rest on the ground or be elevated.
A plurality of decoys may be stacked, while in a fully assembled state and with anchors intact. While stacked, the anchors may be moved to a position that locks the stack so that individual decoys cannot be removed until the anchors are moved to a position that releases the stack.
An important feature of the present invention is the integrated design of the anchor that allows the decoy to be stacked in a fully assembled state, including the anchor. This feature substantially reduces that amount of space required to store a plurality of decoys. Moreover, the distribution of the decoys is much quicker due to the centralized location of the decoys in a single stack, with the anchors already attached.
Another important feature of the present invention is the non-symmetrical design of the decoy head. With an asymmetrical design of the head, the decoy appears more realistic from overhead, where the approaching waterfowl will see the decoy. As a result, approaching waterfowl will be more likely to land near a decoy with this type of head. Consequently, the hunter will be more likely be successful.
Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the drawings.